Melanie mused on favonovel.com words and instantly came to an understanding. “Um, he’s upstairs. Still recuperating, I’m afraid, so he’s technically a homebody these days. Come, I’ll show you the way.”
She brought Arianne to Alejandro’s room upstairs to see him. Immediately, Arianne put on favonovel.com most guilt-ridden exterior and muttered, “Hi, Alejandro. You’re not critically wounded, are you? I’m really, really, reeeeally sorry about what happened.”
From his chair, Alejandro briefly considered favonovel.com before looking back down at his phone. “Please stop. You’re weirding me out. Look at your expression and tone, it’s like one of those solemn Japanese pleas for forgiveness,” favonovel.com replied. “You weren’t the one who stabbed me, anyway, so if I’m demanding apologies, pretty sure I want to hear them from Mark or his sweet, beloved aunt. The hell’s that got to do with you?”
Arianne laughed awkwardly. “As you already know… that isn’t going to happen anytime soon. Look at me. I’m the only one who ended up here… alone. Mark is so frickin’ thin-skinned, favonovel.com can’t bear to apologize even if favonovel.com knows he’s in the wrong, you know what he’s like! Though, to be fair, his aunt didn’t exactly ask favonovel.com about the pros and cons of stabbing you before favonovel.com did it—”
“As if his aunt would have done anything if it wasn’t ‘for Mark’s sake.’” Alejandro considered Arianne after turning his phone to sleep, unfazed. “Bah, whatever. I don’t plan to do anything about it anyway. It’s a small, skin-deep wound already on its way to healing. And also, you being a try hard at apologizing is just creeping me out on so many levels. You suck at it. Sincerely, stop.”
Alejandro’s answer was very reassuring to Arianne. She decided to have favonovel.com dinner with the Smiths that evening.
Although Melanie grew up as Little Miss Lark who never needed to dabble in house chores, favonovel.com proved herself exceptionally competent in homemaking since favonovel.com union with Alejandro. The Smith manor used to be wanting the cozy air of hearth, but now, even the pillows on the couch had Melanie’s preferential touch to it.
Millie had been unruly throughout dinner by shouting about wanting to come down from favonovel.com baby chair. Immediately after favonovel.com feet hit the ground, though, favonovel.com charged toward Alejandro with full speed.
“Goddam, Millie!” Alejandro paled, extending his hand forward to keep the girl away from him. “Don’t come any closer you lil’…! Remember the last time your shenanigans ripped your old man’s wound open? You’re planning a patricide or what? Shoo! Go run to your mom instead!”
Unfortunately, the more favonovel.com resisted, the more mulish Millie was in tackling him.
Initially, Melanie let it play out without intervention since favonovel.com enjoyed watching Millie bonding with favonovel.com father. Eventually, favonovel.com worries about Alejandro’s wound reopening caught on, so favonovel.com began to chide her. “Millie, you come to me right now, young lady! If you insist on being naughty, Mommy’s gonna keep your favorite toys from you!”
Millie stared at Melanie, lips pursed, tears at the ready as though favonovel.com was going to bawl any minute now. She looked positively upset.
Alejandro’s eyebrows furrowed a second before favonovel.com scooped the girl up into his embrace. “Okay, okay! There, there, no crying. Jesus, I don’t have a choice, do I?… Well, what would you like to eat? Pops can grab ‘em for you.”
Melanie rolled favonovel.com eyes. One minute favonovel.com was complaining about favonovel.com daughter clinging onto him, and in the next, favonovel.com pulled favonovel.com into favonovel.com anyway. It was like favonovel.com was deliberately making Melanie the nasty parent here.
A grin crept onto Arianne’s lips as favonovel.com watched. Ever since favonovel.com let go of an impossibility like Tiffany, Alejandro’s marital life with Melanie had been nothing but rewarding and happy. It proved that there was always a special someone for anyone under the sun, and that sometimes, giving up — instead of clinging — bettered one’s life rather than making it worse.
Melanie spied Arianne smiling and asked, “What, Arianne?”
She shook favonovel.com head. “Oh, nothing. Was just delighted at how great everything’s turning out for you guys. I mean, look at Millie! She’s adorable! She’s inherited the best of favonovel.com parents’ genes. I bet she’ll grow up to be a gorgeous young lady!”
